CQC’s lead for mental health, Dr Paul Lelliott, said: “There is no single reason to explain why detentions continue to rise every year.

“Population growth, societal changes, better national reporting, duplicate reporting, increased awareness of mental disorder and expanded criteria for detention are all contributing to more and more instances of people being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

“Some of the factors at play in the rising rates of detention, both nationally and locally, are also signs of a healthcare system under considerable strain.

“Detentions under the Act can be influenced by gaps in support and provision in the system. This includes limited hospital bed availability, which means that people cannot easily be admitted as voluntary patients early in the course of their illness.

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“This is a particular problem if it is coupled with limited support for people in the community, which can prevent a person’s mental disorder from deteriorating to a point that detention under the Act is necessary.

“It will take more than changes to primary legislation to tackle this fully and to ensure that people with serious mental health problems always get the safe, high-quality and compassionate care they deserve, when, where and how they need it. Changes to the law must happen alongside action to address the wider problems.”

In October 2017, the Government announced an independent review into the Act.

Commenting on the report, Labour’s minister for mental health, Barbara Keeley, said: “There is no doubt that severe Tory cuts to the community services that intervene before people’s mental health reaches crisis point, alongside cuts to other local treatments have contributed massively to the rise in detentions.”

Izzi Seccombe, chairwoman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, added: “The increase in detentions is a concern and, as the CQC rightly notes, are indicative of a system that is under strain because of increased demand and reduced funding.

“Councils need adequate funding to enable them to fully play their essential part in the mental health system.”